Saudi Arabian singer arrested for 'dabbing'0:18

Abdallah Al Shahani was arrested for 'dabbing', while performing at a music festival in the city of Taif in south-west Saudi Arabia last weekend.

August 12th 2017

6 months ago

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A famous Saudi singer has been arrested for dabbing.Source:Twitter

A POPULAR Saudi Arabian singer and TV host has been arrested for “dabbing” during a concert in the conservative country.

Abdallah Al Shahani was performing the dance move at a music festival in the city of Taif in southwest Saudi Arabia last weekend, The Sun reports.

Saudi singer caught on camera dabbing.Source:YouTube

Dabbing, which involves a person pointing one arm upwards towards the sky while also bowing their head into their other arm, is illegal in Saudi Arabia.

After video footage of Al Shahani “dabbing” emerged online, the celeb was reportedly arrested by authorities on Saturday.

It is not known whether he has been charged over the offence.

The Saudi Interior Ministry’s National Commission For Combating Drugs recently banned it because they consider it to reference to marijuana use, BBC reported.

A poster released by the country’s ministry shows a cartoon image of a man performing the dance move with a big red cross over him.

It warns “people about the dangers of this [move] on the youth and society, and is warning against imitating”.

A poster from Saudi Arabia’s Interior Ministry’s National Commission for Combating Drugs on their dabbing ban.Source:Supplied

The singer has since apologised, saying it was an accident, in a tweet posted on Sunday.

He wrote in Arabic: “I apologise to our respected government and to my audience for unintentionally and spontaneously making the dance move at Taif festival. Please accept my apology.”

The Saudi singer arrested for dabbing.Source:Twitter

The “dabbing” trend is thought to have been initially started in Atlanta by rappers from the group Migos and a few other artists that collaborate on their tracks, including Jose Guapo, Skippa Da Flippa, and PeeWee Longway.

Since the dabbing craze begun a lot of celebs, politicians and royals have performed the move in public.

This article originally appeared on The Sun and has been republished here with permission.